Trying Out Some New Things

Hello again everyone, I'm at it again... MORE Halloween art!!! I could just keep going and going with all the ideas and great colors of inspiration, it truly is my favorite time of year!

I was at the grocery store yesterday, and had to walk by and feel the pumpkins, ohhh I'm getting excited!!!

 I think I'm decorating this weekend, going to a wedding on Saturday, and have a FUN blog hop planned for next weekend. I'll give some details on that here in a bit.

 First I want to share a little project I worked on this morning for a Swap coming up, I'd love to show you all the goodness this swap consists of, but I have to keep it secret for a little while longer,so Shhhhh ( as she reads my blog) I can't show all my cards just yet...but soon I will ...can't wait to share all the fall magic for this one!

At Halloween there is something so magical to me about crows in hats! I just love the idea of birds celebrating this glorious holiday with melodic singing and gathering together in festive attire fit for a ball! That may sound a tad bit like a crazy person, (but I'll let you in on a secret)... All the best people are! Anyway, enough about me... back to the project.

I found this new great program that I have been playing with, so I thought I would try it out today and see how it goes. Since Halloween is about magic and Whimsy, what better time to play a bit.

So Here he is! Mr Crow, with his festive new party hat. He's a mini crow, which made it even more fun!

After a little digital sprinkling of magic, I must say I am loving this! It's always fun to try new things, and the more one practices, the better one gets. I used some fun black and white french paper for his hat, vintage tinsel,vintage millinery, and some bits and findings.

 

I like the softness of this one....

 

 

I love this effect too!

 

Hope she loves it!

 

I really love metal art,So I have been playing with some new ideas, and trying some new things to see if I like it...

 

 

 

 

Adding a new trick to my bag... SOLDERING!   I will admit this is my first attempt at Soldering, it's a lot harder than it looks, for me at least. I'm being brave by sharing these with you, as I am NOT a professional what-so-ever! Again, my FIRST try.

 

I'll just keep practicing... I bought a few books, Sally Jean's, Pretty Little Things and Collage Lost and Found by Guiseppina Cirincione. Great books and lovely photos in both of these books. I want to take Sally's Soldering for Virgins class and learn some tips and tricks. But have to finish up the two classes I'm taking right now first. I think It will be a great winter project for me!

Oh yes and before I forget, The blog party is: Le Mysterieux Carvival from Frosted Petunias .
 I'm really looking forward to seeing all the photos and gypsy fortune tellers and all the magic that this party is going to be! So I hope you return that day, as it's going to be such fun!

 

 Wishing you a creative week, until next time... Have a Magical Day!!!

 

Don't forget to leave your comment below, so that I can wish you a Hello Lovely....

 

~Susan Xo

 

 

 

My Musical Magical Deer

Hello everyone! Well summer is nearing an end, the changing of the weather, the fading flowers, and the urge to get finished up with major projects we have taken on this year.  The pumpkins have began arriving at the nurseries and the mums are in full bloom.

I feel a little stretched in many areas, as I know here in Oregon the rainy season fast approaches. And we are scrambling to get it all done...

As you all remember, I drug home my little camper trailer "Jewel", at the beginning of the summer, and have been working on her off and on for the past few months. I just love her! I am to the point now of hanging some art, and had this wild idea that I wanted to add something whimsical to her space. I'm mean after all, it's my playhouse, so anything goes!

I had been looking at these pho- deer head mounts that I keep seeing in all the decorator magazines, and thought, "That's it!" That would be perfect, until I looked at the prices of these statement pieces. Sheesh! Pricey! 

I'm a bit of a budget queen, a thrift store goddess, and proud of it! LOL! And thought I could do it myself for alot less, sooooo that's what I did!

I started out with this paper mache deer that I found at the craft store. I thought it would work perfectly!

 

I then did this! Close your eyes if it's just too much for you!

 Marked the right angle, and then I had Steve cut it's head off with the chop saw.. "Sorry" Mr. Deer, "but your going to be better than before", is what I had to keep telling him....

 

 

I set up workspace in front of Jewel, on a table in the sun, and started working on my vision.

 

 I added a wood block at the base of the neck for stabilizing, and to securely mount him in the end, to this small ornate frame I had picked up awhile back at the thrift for a couple of dollars.

 

Next step, tear apart the frame, and get it ready for painting.

 

 

I love this aqua color, perfect for the frame. It's the same color I used for the range and fridge and the wheels.

 

 

Decoupage, vintage sheet music, paint brush, and wiping rag, ready set go! Tear small pieces of random size sheet music and decoupage using a brush to coat both sides well, then start staggering layers and pressing down with your fingers.

 

 Hello! Not the best pic of me, but oh well, working here. Fingers will get really messy, you could use gloves, but I chose not to here, so I could really feel the edges.

 

Making progress, just keep going!

 

 

The entire process took about 4.5 hrs to cover completely, but wait til you see how great it looks!

 

 

Back to dressing up the frame, I washed it with some acrylic burnt umber paint working in small areas, and wiping off excess paint, until I got the aged feel I wanted. Also I cut out my background paper that the head will be mounted on, Mod Podge'd the entire front and back, gluing layers together, and to add stiffness.

 

Now It's time to mount the head. I removed the glass from the frame so that I can screw directly from the back to secure the head with 2 screws.

 And here it is! A finished mount! This is going to look so cute with beads and things hanging off the antlers!

I love the aged feel that it has, and love the sheet music! With a little imagination, and a little hard work, you can do anything your heart desires! Finally a few things up, lots more to do, but I love the focal point of this grouping, and it's a great start!

 

Thanks for sharing this artsy adventure and fun little project with me, I'd love to hear your comments below.

 

Have a Beautiful Day!!!

 

Xo Susan

 

 

 

Spooky Art

Hello Everyone, I hope your finding some creative inspirations in your day today!

Although it's not October, my favorite Holiday is just around the corner. I've been making Halloween Magic the past few weeks for some really fun Art Swaps coming up. So I thought I would share a few with you today:)

These are just a few of the Artist Trading Cards I have been working on. It's all that would fit on the box! LOL!

I just LOVE this one. She got a fortune teller, gypsy type of look to her. I decided to make some really fun weathered hats this year and I am so pleased with how they turned out.

 

I was inspired to create this one from our "Blue Moon" we got to experience last week. The incredible thing about this magical Blue Moon, is that we will not have another one until 2015. I was thankful that I had such a whirlwind of creative energy with this lunar cycle. I've been making these like mad:)  So I thank the Mother Moon Goddess for the blessing of creativity this month:)

 

I love Frozen Charlotte's, this one has wings of Amber. And a fun weathered hat that I added strips of burlap for an aged feel. I love this one too!

 A masked Marie Antoinette all dressed up and ready for the ball! The green is really fun in this one. She has bits of green sparkles on her gown, and I added some peacock feathers to her hat.

This one was really fun to make. A bit of Steampunk with the metal and paper gears. I love her little wind up on her back. The butterflies add just the right amount of softness to the piece.

And whats Halloween without some Edgar Allen Poe? I fashioned a top hat for him adding feathers and bits, and I added the same details at the bottom to ground the composition. Love me some Poe!

 These little wicked sisters have such personality! I love how the hats turned out for the rough and rowdy gals.

Another Fun Marie Antoinette with some scary bits added and another fun hat!

Another Fun One! These gals are ready for company, could you imagine sitting down to a lovely pot of tea and a nice meal with these two?


I hope you enjoyed these little samplings, I'll have many more to share before October I'm sure!

Retro Cafe Art has some wonderful images for use in your creative projects. Super fast shipping and Excellent Custmer Service!

You can find these FOR SALE on my Etsy  Shoppe.

Have a Most Wonderful Day!

And don't forget to leave me a comment below so I can say Hi :)